The World Health Organization (WHO) says that listening to music at that volume for more than an hour at time can damage hearing ability. The study found that half the young people questioned listened for more than an hour a day with a quarter listening for more than 21 hours per week. About 58% were completely unaware of the hearing loss risks and 79% had never seen warnings about noise levels on packaging of MP3 players.
Do manufacturers really care about this issue? An RNID spokeswoman said that last September the group contacted 55 manufacturers about adding warning labels to packaging and heard back from just two of them. "MP3 manufacturers have a responsibility to make their customers aware of the dangers by printing clear warnings on packaging and linking volume controls to decibel levels," Brian Lamb, acting chief executive of RNID, said.
"It's easy to crank up the sound levels on your MP3 player to damagingly loud levels, especially on busy streets or public transport. But if people can hear the music from your headphones from just a meter away, you're putting your hearing at risk."
Source:
BBC News